Poor Jonah. He knew from the beginning that this would happen. Now, his worst fears have come true. Those evil, sick, violent, perverted Ninevites have avoided calamity by turning to God. And Jonah even knows, in his heart, that their repentance won’t last. However sincere they may be right now, Jonah knows they’ll eventually return to their old ways.

And boy, is he mad.

Why wouldn’t God just zap them all? Why would a loving and just God allow such evil to persist in the world? It didn’t make any sense. It wasn’t fair.

It still doesn’t make sense. It still doesn’t seem fair. Yet, God still stands with open arms, waiting to embrace all who turn to Him. He even reaches out to them, and tries to draw them in.

Even when He knows they will eventually turn back to their old ways.

Man. It just doesn’t seem right.

I guess that’s why God tells us, in Isaiah 55:9, that His ways are higher than our ways. We won’t ever truly understand God’s character, because we are limited in our understanding of such love-driven power. But in that same chapter in Isaiah, God offers an invitation: “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters.”

God’s compassion is equally available to everyone. Even the people who don’t deserve it.

Ouch.

Our understanding teaches us several things about justice:

1. Evil should be punished.

2. There are some levels of evil that can’t be rehabilitated.

3. If evil is forgiven without consequence, there’s no reason to live upright, faith-filled lives. What’s the point?

4. If evil isn’t judged, the bad guys win.

5. We need order. Part of that order requires consistent consequences for evil.

We need these rules for living. They are God-given and God-driven. So why doesn’t God have to play by His own rules?

Well, because He’s God. That’s why.

And because His love is always deep in the center of His judgement. While our desire is for judgment, at least for the people we don’t like, His desire is for a relationship with all the people He created. He doesn’t care any more or any less about my worst enemy than He does about me.

Yes, my friend. God will punish evil. He will have the final say. But He will never, ever blindly destroy someone who hasn’t had a clear opportunity to turn to Him first. And while I have been blessed with many opportunities to recognize God’s love and mercy and compassion, not everyone has been so blessed. Some people, because of their very culture of sin and violence, because of the bitterness and anger and hurt that has built up in their hearts, because of reasons that we can’t understand or imagine, have been blind. They haven’t seen God’s outstretched arm, though it’s been there all along. And God will not destroy them until they’ve clearly recognized the opportunity for salvation.

This story of God’s compassion toward the Ninevites isn’t a call to do away with our justice system. Rather, it’s an invitation to catch a glimpse of God’s true character. It’s an opportunity to examine our own hearts, our own attitudes and see how they measure up, compared to God’s.

I don’t know about you, but I still can’t comprehend God’s mind, His love, His ways. I suppose I never will. Yet, I want to keep trying. I want to keep seeking the mind of God, so that little by little I might be transformed into His image. I have a long way to go. But a journey of a thousand miles begins with . . . yes, that’s right.

A single step.

Dear Father, I don’t understand Your ways, but I want to. Please help me to accept Your ways even when I don’t understand them. Help me to become more and more like You with each small step.

Amen

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Have you ever been seething, boiling angry? I’m not talking about a little miffed. I’m talking about the kind of angry where you feel you will explode, the kind of angry where you want to hit someone or destroy something. That’s the kind of anger Jonah felt at this moment.

Reading this from our comfortable easy-chairs, centuries after the fact, we tend to think of Jonah as a spoiled, selfish man who wanted God’s grace only for Himself. To our way of thinking, he looks like a child with a favorite toy – he doesn’t want to share. But that’s not exactly true.

You see, in many ways, Jonah was justified in his anger. Nineveh wasn’t just a city of evil people. They weren’t the kinds of drug-using, prostitution-loving people who might say, “Who are we hurting?” They weren’t just corrupt and sinful.

They were terrorists.

Yes, you heard me. The Ninevites were terrorists. They had violently attacked the Israelites, had killed them and hung their body parts out for sport. They were a sick, hateful, perverse people, and they deserved punishment. Jonah knew that any repentance they offered would, in all likelihood, be only temporary, and he was right. Less than a generation later, Nineveh returned to her wicked ways.

Common sense told Jonah – and tells us as well – that these types of people must be punished. They must be destroyed, or they will live to terrorize again.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

How could a loving, compassionate God allow such wickedness in the world? Forget about the Ninevites. What about the Israelites? Surely, God would bring justice upon the people who had caused so much agony to His own people. Wouldn’t He?

Well, no. And Jonah knew that from the beginning.

And it made him so mad, he could barely speak.

So, now that we understand Jonah’s anger, let’s look at things from God’s point of view. Seeing things from God’s perspective is always difficult, because we are limited in our understanding. But praise God, His Holy Spirit helps us see things the way He sees them, when we ask Him. Dear Lord, help us to understand.

God loves the people He created. All of them. And although He is a God of strict justice, He is also a God of immeasurable mercy and compassion.

Yeah, He had compassion on the Israelites, just as He has compassion on us. Yeah, He was steamed at the Ninevites’ behavior, which is why He threatened calamity.

But, while Jonah saw only the wickedness of the Ninevites, God saw their ignorance (Jonah 4:11). They didn’t know any other way to be. Wickedness, destruction and terrorism were a way of life for them, ingrained in them from the time they were infants. While the Israelites had hope, the Ninevites had none. The Israelites knew of God’s goodness and mercy. The Ninevites lived in total darkness.

Yes, God knew that the Ninevites would eventually return to their evil ways, just as He knew the Israelites would. Just as He knows I will and you will. Still, He loves all of the people He created, and He wants us to know that love. And when He sees a person or a nation who is without hope, He will do just about anything to show Himself to them. To us.

Yeah, I know. My evil ways can’t be compared to those of a terrorist. But perhaps that’s because I have been blessed to live in a nation, in a culture where God’s light shines. Though it may be dim at times, He is there, and any who seek Him will find Him.

But what if I lived in a culture that was so black, so evil and wicked . . . what if darkness was all I knew? What if I was so accustomed to the dark, I didn’t even recognize the possibility of light? What if I just accepted perversity and cruelty as normal?

What if I had no hope?

Strict justice, without compassion and mercy, would say that I must burn in hell. It would even say I should be treated the way I have treated others, and die a cruel and torturous death. An eye for an eye, right?

Although God is a just God, He is also compassionate. It is His compassion that allows me, a lowly sinner, to become His child with all the rights and privileges afforded a child of the King. Even though I’ve done nothing to deserve that kind of love, He loves me anyway, simply because He created me.

He created me and you, and He loves us. And friends, He created the people we don’t like, too.

Sometimes, we get angry when God blesses someone we dislike. We get pouty and sulky when our arch enemy gets a promotion, or the gal who beat us out for homecoming queen also gets a full scholarship to the school we applied for. And when someone who has gone out of their way to treat us badly receives a big ol’ heaping helping of God’s grace, man, we can hardly stand it.

That’s the difference between us and God. And if God weren’t the kind of God who shows compassion on repentant terrorists, He also wouldn’t be the kind of God who shows compassion on me.

Dear Father, Forgive me for being angry at Your goodness, shown to people I don’t like. Help me to see things the way You see them. Help me to love people, not because they deserve love, but because they need it.

Amen

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Don’t you just hate that moment when the clouds open up, the bright light of heaven shines down, and you realize you’ve been . . . well, wrong?

It’s hard to admit that we’ve messed up. It’s hard to own up to our faults. To do so means we have to swallow our pride, humble ourselves, and say we’re sorry. And none of us likes to do that.

But that is what repentance calls for. Whether we are repenting to God or to another person, true repentance does more than say, “I’m sorry.” It does more than beg for mercy in order to avoid punishment. Oh, those things might be results of true repentance. But alone, they don’t add up to repentance.

Nope. True repentance requires an all-out, honest look at ourselves and our actions. True repentance requires us to say, “Oh, man. I really messed up. I was wrong, and I don’t want to do that again.”

True repentance requires shame.

All too often, we put on a sort of repentance-like countenance, usually when we’ve been caught doing something we shouldn’t have. We want to avoid the consequences of our transgressions, so we say we’re sorry. Then, we act really sweet for a few days, until we feel like the danger has passed.

Not so for the Ninevites. From the king all the way down to the poorest beggar, they repented. They realized that what Jonah said was true, and that they deserved every ounce of doom God intended to hurl upon them.

Jonah’s preaching brought with it that moment of the clouds opening up. The people saw themselves for what they really were – dreadful, disgraceful, disgusting sinners who had perverted God’s love and broken God’s laws.

And they were ashamed.

Recently, I’ve had one of those moments of realization about my own life. I feel like Paul, who said “the things I want to do, I don’t do, and the things I don’t want to do, I do.” I don’t always mirror God’s character to those around me. I am impatient. Unkind. I lose my temper.

And I am ashamed.

That shame feels pretty rotten, and yet I am grateful for it. For it’s in that moment of acknowledgement of my sinfulness that God’s mercy begins it’s beautiful, thirst-quenching descent on my life. You see, it’s never His intent or desire to cast doom on any of His creation. He loves us, and He doesn’t want any of us to perish.

But He knows that sin will destroy us, and it’s consequences in our lives will bring much greater havoc and misery than a one-time explosion, or whatever He was threatening for Nineveh. He wanted them to repent, so that they could start living the full, abundant lives He created them for.

He wants that for us, too.

While I’m not sure I’ll walk around wearing sackcloth (not even sure what that is or where to purchase it), and I doubt I’ll cover myself with ashes from my bar-b-que grill, I do feel shame for the wrong things I have done. I will most certainly spend some time on my knees, telling God how wrong I’ve been, and asking Him to help me change. Like the Ninevites, I want to do everything I can to show God how sorry I am.

Dear Father, Thank you for the Ninevites’ example of repentance. Help me to see my sin for what it is, and turn from it.

Amen

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When most of us think of Jonah’s story, we think of the miracle of one man being trapped in a fish’s belly for three days, and surviving. That is truly a miracle, a feat only God Himself could accomplish, and it certainly makes a great story. However, the book of Jonah holds within its pages an even greater miracle – one which often gets overshadowed by our preoccupation with the fish.

It is the miracle of repentance.

Never in history, before or after this story took place, has such a massive revival occurred. The entire city repented! And it wasn’t just some tiny little dot on a map. Nineveh was a huge city, and every last person there heard God’s message and immediately felt sorry for the way he had behaved.

Even the king.

Even the king.

Friends, do you understand what a great miracle takes place in verse six? The ruler of an evil, sin-filled, drunken, pornographic society (sound familiar?) heard God’s message and rose from his throne. He removed himself from his place of authority.

Next, he took off his royal robes, thus placing himself at the same level as any other commoner. He replaced those soft, fine, colorful, luxurious robes with sackcloth, which was a harsh, course fabric. It was uncomfortable and itchy. It was ugly. And it was worn by people who were at the lowest place of their lives.

Then, he sat down in the dust. No more throne for him! He humbled himself. He made himself physically dirty and low to show that he understood his spiritual state. He was spiritually dirty, spiritually as low as he could get in comparison with the Most High God.

This was the king.

Friends, I feel convicted just writing this. I am not royal by birth. I’m not a great political figure, nor am I a superstar. There’s nothing about me that makes me important, by the world’s standards. I have nothing on this king of Nineveh.

And yet, I’m not sure I’ve ever humbled myself the way he did. As I read this passage, I have to ask myself a few questions.

Do I really understand who I am, in comparison to God?

Do I understand how spiritually low and dirty I am?

Have I ever truly comprehended the depth of God’s grace and mercy?

Do I realize the impact God’s forgiveness has had on my life?

As I ponder these questions, I am beginning to see that I need to imitate that king’s actions. I need to remove myself from the throne of my life. I need to remove any attitude of self-importance, and throw myself at the feet of the Almighty. Then, and only then, can I bask in the joy that will come when He lifts me up, draws me to Himself, and says, “Welcome home, my child.”

Dear Father, I repent. Thank You for Your forgiveness and mercy.

Amen

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I will never forget my first visit to New York. As a native Texan, I was accustomed to wide open spaces and mile upon mile of open land. I knew that New York was much smaller in actual measurement than Texas, yet I had heard how “big” the place was.

When I got there, I figured out how they packed so many people in such a small place. Everything goes up. Skyscrapers are everywhere, and if you are standing in the middle of the a street, it is difficult to see even one block over.

Like New York, Nineveh’s name referred to both the city and the district. The city, which was about eight miles across, was home to about 175,000 people. The district of Nineveh was somewhere between 30 and 60 miles across. Since Jonah was probably traveling on foot, it was going to take him a few days to do what he had to do.

Poor Jonah. He was tired. He didn’t want to be there in the first place, and now he was probably having post-traumatic stress. After three days in the belly of a fish, expecting to die a slow, tortuous death, I’d have been ready for a relaxing week at a hospital somewhere, letting the kind nurses take care of me.

But Jonah knew what was required of him, and he did it. He’d had his time of running from God, and he’d learned his lesson. God said, “Go to Nineveh, and tell them about me.” So Jonah did it.

As stubborn as Jonah was in the beginning, I think I’m more stubborn. I often know what God wants me to do, but I don’t want to do it, so I don’t do it. God can do everything in His power, it seems, to reign me back into His will, yet I still turn my back on Him. I still do exactly what I want to do, instead of surrendering to God and doing what is required of me.

Oh, I surrender to Him as long as it’s convenient. But when He asks me to do something hard, I often put it off and off and off. I like to call it procrastination. God calls it disobedience.

I’m glad Jonah obeyed God, even if his obedience was a little late. After all, delayed obedience is better than no obedience. I hope I can get to the point where I will obey God, no matter how big or inconvenient the task, right away.

Dear Father, I’m sorry for my disobedience. I’m sorry for my procrastination. Please help me to obey You immediately when I hear Your voice.

Amen

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Remember the saying, “Hindsight is better than foresight?” So true. Jonah was writing this from hindsight. He had already been delivered from that fish’s intestines. He had visited the dark side, and lived to tell about it.

Sometimes, I feel like my life is ebbing away. At times I feel like death would surely be better than some of the messes I find myself in. Oh, don’t worry. I’m not suicidal. Just keepin’ it real.

But somehow, no matter how overwhelmed I may feel, God always gives me the strength to call out to Him. Even if it is a silent cry, God hears. His connection is even better than Verizon Wireless.

And friends, I want you to listen very closely. God hears, and He listens. Every single word, every groan, every helpless sigh is important to Him. He leans forward when we call Him, and says, “Listen! It’s (your name here).”

And I want you to know something else, too. You are top priority to the King of Kings. You are His child, and He loves You. Oh, He is more concerned about our souls than our circumstances, and He allows us to go through some hard things, in order to shape us into His image. Sometimes, He allows us to go through things just so we will call out to Him.

But He will never forget us, and He will never allow us to be destroyed, as long as we keep trusting in Him. Keep calling out to Him. He can hear you.

Dear Father, Thank You for listening to my prayers. Thank You for hearing my silent cries. I trust You.

Amen

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Have you ever felt hopeless? Jonah had every reason to feel that way. Seriously. He was praying this prayer from inside a fish’s intestines. Ew.

Yet, he had hope. He said, I will look again toward your holy temple. He may have had an idea of what God was up to. He may have felt that somehow, someway, God was still going to send him to Ninevah.

Or, he may have simply known that as a child of God, we are never without hope. No matter our past, no matter our present circumstances, for the child of God, our futures are always bright. We will stand in God’s presence one day, and it will be a beautiful thing when we do. We have every good thing to look forward to.

Sometimes, it may seem like we’ve been banished from God’s sight, but that’s not true. God promised Moses and Joshua that He’d never leave them or forsake them (Joshua 1:5), and He makes the same promise to us in Matthew 28:20. No matter what we do, regardless of our sin or our circumstances, God is with us. He was with Jonah in the belly of that fish, and He is with me, with you in whatever mess of smelly intestines we may find ourselves.

Though I forget, though I feel sorry for myself and cry my eyes out, I want to be like Jonah. I know I can rest in the assurance of hope in God, no matter what.

Dear Father, Thank You for giving me hope, even in the most hopeless of situations.

Amen

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Have you ever been punished for something, and you knew you deserved the punishment?

Yeah, me too. And it’s not fun.

Yet, when I think back to the times, growing up, that my parents punished me, I know they didn’t enjoy the punishment. They didn’t punish me because they wanted to. They did it because they loved me, and they wanted something better for me than I had chosen for myself.

Friends, God loves us, just as He loved Jonah. He wants the very best for us, and His best includes submission and obedience to His Word. Jonah rebelled against God, and God called him on it.

Throughout scripture, we are reminded that God disciplines those He loves (Hebrews 12:5 – 6, Revelation 3:19, Proverbs 3:11 – 12). If He didn’t love us, He’d let us do whatever we wanted. He wouldn’t care. But God did care about Jonah. He had a good plan for Jonah’s life, and Jonah wasn’t following that plan. So God said, “Son, I love you too much to let you live in selfishness and rebellion. That won’t bring you the happiness and joy and peace you desire.”

And splash! Jonah was sent into the deep waters.

But while God’s discipline may seem harsh, He still takes care of us. He sent that giant fish along at just the right moment to swallow Jonah up. That in itself may have seemed like a punishment. But it was really God’s provision for a son that He loved. He made sure he was safe.

Sometimes, when we feel the splash of the icy cold water, when we find ourselves in the smelly, slimy, cold bowels of a nasty old fish, we need to open our eyes and hearts. We need to smile, knowing that our Father loves us – for He disciplines those He loves. He’s not being mean. He’s treating us like a Father treats His child – the child He adores, the child for which He wants nothing less than the very best.

Dear Father, Help me to obey You the first time, so I can avoid Your discipline. When I find myself being punished for something I’ve done, help me to recognize and remember that You discipline me because You love me. Help me to learn the lessons I need to learn, and not to repeat my mistakes. Thank You for loving me.

Amen

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I’ve had some pretty distressful experiences in my life. But honestly, I think Jonah has me beat. I have never been inside the belly of a huge fish, begging God for my life. Talk about distressful!

But it doesn’t matter to God. Whatever our distress level – high or low, large or small, God cares. No matter how far away He may seem, He hears us when we call out to Him. He listens to us, and He always answers us.

Oh, the answer may not always be what we want to hear. Sometimes, we ask Him for something, and He says, “No.” But no is still an answer, isn’t it?

Friends, no matter where we are or what our circumstances, we can call out to God. He hears us, and He is always a good listener. And because nothing is impossible with God, He very well may give us an answer we didn’t even think of.

Dear Father, Thank You for always listening and hearing me.

Amen

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Have you ever found yourself inside the belly of a fish?

Well, I don’t mean literally. That would be highly unusual. But have you found yourself in a bad situation of your own making, and you didn’t have any idea how you were going to get out of it?

Yes, I have too. It’s not the most pleasant place to be, is it?

Jonah found himself curled up in that dark, stinky fish belly, and I’m sure he just wanted to die. He probably thought he was going to die, a slow, painful, disgusting death. Yet, for some reason, far below the surface of the water, God allowed Jonah to keep breathing. And since he had no particular place to go, other than where the fish carried him, he decided he might as well pray.

You know, I love the reminder that no matter where we find ourselves, God is always right there with us. We can talk to Him, and He will listen.

Not only that, but He longs to hear us call out His name. Sometimes, He will allow us to get exactly what we deserve, because He knows that then and only then will we cry out to Him. It was true in Jonah’s case, and it is true for us, as well.

Though we may find ourselves in the worst possible circumstances, God will continue to love us. He will continue to bless us, as He blessed Jonah with air. And when we call to Him, He hears us. Though our situation may seem helpless, God can deliver us. He has important plans for each of our lives, and He wants to see those plans through to the end.

So wherever you are, my friend, no matter how stinky and nasty, just keep praying.

God hears you. He is right there.

Dear Father,

I’m sorry for getting myself into difficult situations. Thank You for never leaving me, and for always listening to me when I call out to You.

Amen

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